Monday, December 29, 2008

Our Christmas was relaxing, exciting, peaceful, loud, enjoyable, and memorable. It's hard to imagine it described that way, but in fact it was all of those things. On Christmas Eve we went to my parents house to celebrate. We always, always have lots of food, treats, and this year: drinks :) (I mention this only because last Christmas I was nearly a week overdue with Lydia).

Here, Cassidy is trying to decide which cookie she should try first. Later on she was found under the table eating more treats with a cousin.Grandpa always reads the Christmas story to the kids, hoping they listen while they have ants in their pants and watching those wrapped presents calling their name. They usually do listen well. One cousin is missing from this picture. I wonder where he went??One of Lydia's gifts was twin babies! She was so happy. She was carrying one or the other all night long.

Nate said I look drunk in this picture. I really did not get drunk at my parent's Christmas. Just enjoyed the rum very much. There is a difference. Christmas morning was very exciting too. Santa came and left stuff in our stockings and gifts for the girls.Cassie would have been happy if this was all she received for Christmas. A mickey mouse clubhouse. from Santa. And that is exactly what she told him she wanted.

Christmas Day afternoon we traveled to Nate's Grandparent's to visit. And again, more great food!My little punk's first Christmas.Our family:

Lydia with all of her Christmas babies. There are 5 total, all different except the twins:It was a great Christmas and I'm thankful to have a healthy, happy family. That is all that matters. Merry Christmas.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Monday, December 22, 2008

Besides being ill and in the ER, Lydia managed to cut her first tooth last Thursday. Two days later the second one broke through. We might as well have bought stock in Motrin & Tylenol last week as I'm sure they went up after she got sick. She is much better now and ready for Christmas and her first birthday and party next weekend.We've been snuggling under blankets over the weekend with all of these storms! Finally a break today, but sounds like more snow tomorrow. Cassie & I were able to make a bunch of Christmas treats and need to do a few more today. It was nice to have a weekend snowed in, although we did have to reschedule a Christmas visit with Nate's grandparents. (we missed you guys!!)

I hope you have a very merry Christmas and I'll be back next week to post our Christmas and birthday parties!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

notice Cassidy here...look where the arrow is pointing: she's burying her head into my arm as santa is trying to give her a sucker. There was no way she would lay her eyes on him...even though he was being so nice to her. We tried peer pressure, but that had no effect.

Here's Lydia on Santa's lap...She sat there for approximately 1 minute just looking up at him. I think she has a crush on any man with facial hair. This is not the only time we've experienced this.

2nd attempt:

Oh how different this visit was! Lydia was screaming (Although I wish there was a better picture with all of them in it so you could see her face) and Cassidy did tell santa what she wanted even though we dragged her up there and made her tell him.

Oh well....Maybe next year!

We've been enjoying our basement lots lately: it helps now that we have a new sofa down there so mom & dad have somewhere to sit :)Funny thing with Lydia...She LOVES this princess tent. She crawls in & out & in & out. the only other things she plays with in the basement are babies. It's so cute to watch her carry them all over!

This week is my final week of the semester. I'm ready for a little break for Christmas. My house also needs to be cleaned so bad. We finally put away all of the Christmas tubs that have been sitting around. You don't even want to see my dining room right now...Final projects all over, laundry, crayon drawings, bathroom light fixtures, unwrapped Christmas presents, etc...It's a mess. I don't even know why I'm using my time to post this.

Tomorrow we're going to try to finish up our Christmas shopping. Nate has the day off and sounds like the weather will be good. We'll make a stop at the hospital too as my aunt had quadruple bypass surgery yesterday. I hope she's feeling okay.

And with hope this weekend I'll have some time to do some baking! I haven't even started and usually I have many things in the freezer by now.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Wow. She's almost a year old. I'm really going to cherish this last month before her birthday. She's such a fun baby to be around. 11 months:She can walk everywhere now! And she is so proud of herself when she does. When she falls, she gets right back up and keeps truckin'!She is still toothless. I wonder if we'll see any in the next month at all. They do look like they'll come any day though.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I decided the other day that Cassie needed to get her hair cut. She has never had it cut before, unless you count the time I trimmed a tiny bit off the ends so it was the same length....and that was probably 2 years ago.

Here she is at the salon. Very, very scared. See, she has even found a corner to hide in. And look at the snarly mess of hair she has...it's gotta go!!

We finally convinced her to sit on my lap to have this done. After some begging not to get her hair cut. And crying of course.

Soooo glad it's over!

It ended in a smile, but she's not looking forward to go back anytime soon!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

unbelievable photos can be found here.Our mission in Parkersburg was to help families that were affected from the Memorial Day F5 tornado that hit and wiped out nearly half of the town and killed 8 people. We were amazed at the progress that has been made in only 5 months. Several homes have been built (although many are still being finished) and the town is starting to recover.

Our trip started very early friday morning with a 2 hour drive to Parkersburg IA. We had a great group: 19 people from our church! We were split up into 3 groups, each working on different homes. My group (see 2nd picture above) consisted of two great ladies and myself. We spent approximately 6 hours painting the entire basement of a parsonage for the local Baptist church. We finished it and we were quite proud ;) And were nicknamed the Painter Sisters!My husband and a few others worked on siding a home for a young family. They worked through Saturday and used all of the siding they had, so they were also very productive.The 3rd group worked in the local cop's home. A lot of different things needed to be done: underlayment and trim needed to be installed, and a lot of cleaning was needed. They finished the underlayment and most of the trim. The ladies worked on cleaning the trim and paint touch up which surprisingly took up most of the days. The owner wasn't sure if they would be able to move in by Thanksgiving, but when Saturday was over, he was confident that it might happen. All they need now is to install their floor & kitchen cabinets. What made the trip worth it: that we were able to make a difference in these families.Coming home was really nice, but I couldn't help to think about those in Parkersburg that don't have a place to come "home" to. We had more fun than a planned family vacation and are ready to go back in the spring. Several in our group had mentioned it to me on Sunday at church, so I think we'll just plan on it.

A few things I want to record from the trip:

It was an F5 tornado with winds gusting 250 mph. Some trees were still standing, but limbs were stripped and bent eastward.

There were no street signs, they were all blown down.

The football scoreboard was blown 100 miles away in Decorah. Papers and other things are being found in Wisconsin.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Have you ever wondered about the history of an heirloom? Where it came from, who made it, who used it? Do you even have an heirloom?I'm pleased to say I have many. One of my most prized is my baptism gown that was worn by my mother, myself, and both of my girls. (they'll have to fight over it when they have kids of their own). This little sweater dress was made for Lydia by my mom. I see these sweater dresses all over in stores so I guess they're a hot fashion thing this fall. And I guess mom has an eye for fashion ;) But anyway, it's a sweet little dress that will fit her for quite a while. ps...the hat is from etsy, not quite an heirloom, but is handmade.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Out of nearly 6000 pictures I've taken this year alone, I think this just might be my favorite of all time. And it doesn't even contain my own children.p.s. Jo-let me know what size (& color or b/w) you want this in. I'll get it printed for you!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

What a fun time we had last night! The best part was the weather...we were trick or treating in short sleeves which is so unusual for MN. Cassie was pretty shy when we went door to door, but I guess mom & dad get the candy since we did all the work LOL ;)Our church hosted a party with dinner, games and lots of extra prizes too. Cassie didn't hold back there, she was such a little party girl! Lydia also had a good time watching everyone play games.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

**So my midterm & poster design project are behind me now. That is a weight lifted off for sure. I think I did well on both, but will have to wait for grades to know for certain.

**After I came home last night from class, I was trying to relax by watching tv, but while channel surfing, all I could find were political ads. Makes me want to SCREAM...can I get an amen??!! Tuesday can't come soon enough!

**Oh, yes, and back to the subject of school...I should just go and buy an old nasty rusty car because nobody seems to care about anybody else's car in the parking lot. I've got more dings & scratches and last night my side mirror was tipped back. The nerve.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Sorry I have no "happy" 10 month pictures to share. She hasn't been the happiest baby lately anyway. It's teething time, so we're always cranky. Just look at the 2nd picture with the big frown. She couldn't even crack a smile for me? whateva.

In other news, well, there is no big news stories, but we've been so busy. Maybe I should re-phrase: I'VE been so busy. Here's just a little taste: butchering turkeys, midterm tests, poster design assignment due, daycare on vacation, laundry, stamp class, assessment test, studying, laundry, studying, and more studying. I've probably missed something, but I can't think straight right now. I have not been this busy since planning for my wedding. My mind is going to crash anytime, I can just feel it.Next week I only have one day of classes then Nate & I are traveling to Parkersburg Iowa for 2 days to help tornado victims rebuild. I am actually looking forward to help but also to get away and get my mind off of things at home. It will be a good experience. I'll keep you posted about how our trip went.

Monday, October 13, 2008

this is old news at our house, but just wanted to post it anyway. A few weeks ago Nate found (or I should say Daisy, our hunting dog) these baby bunnies in our pasture. The mother was gone and left these infants in a hole. (I say infants because they couldn't have been more than a couple days old-they're eyes were still closed) She was probably chased off by Daisy. Nate ended up putting them in a bucket with grass and bringing them to the house. I thought they were mice at first, because their ears were so short, but looking closer they're so much cuter than a mouse. Cassie instantly fell in love.and then there was the onlooker we had to keep away. I have no idea if they survived. We took them back to the hole hoping the mother would come back to take care of them.

Friday, October 3, 2008

A few months ago Cassidy, Lydia & I were driving in the city and every now and then she said "LOOK MOMMY!! A Mouse!!" Or "There's another mouse!" I couldn't figure it out. What the heck was she talking about!?? So I asked where she saw the mouse. She said on the sign. Wha....? The sign has a mouse on it?? We kept driving. I looked a little closer at the sign, and sure enough there's a mouse:

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Sunday, September 28, 2008

This little punk just turned 9 months over the weekend. Getting a good shot of her was pretty interesting as she wouldn't look at the camera and totally ignored me most of the time, and obviously no smiles either. But I do love the colors in the 2nd picture. It's my favorite time of year.Things are changing pretty fast around here. The other day she took her first step, although it wasn't deliberate or intentional, it just happened. Also over the weekend she just started saying da da. I do have to admit (even though I'm a bit jealous) it's cute, but daddy is very proud and thinks he taught her how to say it.We have the 9 month checkup tomorrow, and I'm very anxious to see if she's gained from her 10th percentile. (crossing fingers) Someone at church told me today that they thought she was only 5 months old! She's small, but not THAT small!!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Cassidy: LYDIAAAA!!! I'm NOT a napkin!!! Stop it! Lydia:Cassidy: I'm NOT A NAPKIN!!Lydia: ScreamsCassidy: Stop it! I'm not a NAAAPKIIINNN!!Mommy: C---What are you talking about??!!Cassidy: She's spitting at me but I'm not a napkin!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Here's Lydia's new face that she makes every so often. She purses her lips and scrunches up her nose like that. I think she does it to get a laugh out of us. Sometimes she'll make this face, then breath in and out of her nose really loud. I'll have to get it on video sometime.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

I can't believe I have a 4 year old now. She's growing and learning so much these days. We had a couple days of celebrating. Sunday was the party with all of the fam, and yesterday was the actual day, so we let her do whatever she wanted. She just wanted to play with her new toys and hang out most of the day. She also got to pick anything she wanted from the Ice cream man (schwan's).We went out yesterday to take a few pictures. I do this every year on birthdays to see how much she's grown. I think mature is definitely describes her this year.I tried to get one with both of the girls together but it didn't really work how I planned. But this picture totally cracked me up...Cassidy's trying to shush Lydia, and Lydia is just squirming and squealing:

I wanted to include this one from the party and cake that Grandma made!

This should be a really fun year for Cassidy. This is her last year before preschool. She has started Sunday School and seemed to enjoy it. And leaving her at daycare is getting easier. We're just slowly getting her used to the fact that mommy & daddy aren't always around, and she's probably okay with that after she gets over being anxious about us leaving her.here are a few little fun things about her this year:

She's a little "mother hen" to Lydia and I love that. So does Lydia.

She could watch TV from the time she gets up until bedtime at night...in her pj's

She enjoys playing disney games on the computer. And now Webkinz games too. (that was one of her gifts)

She has to have a light & music on in her room at night. She usually sneaks out of her room a few times before she falls asleep.